


Let the Choir Bells Sing

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: Uliro Week [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Culture, Jealousy, Let Shiro flirt 2k17, M/M, Misunderstandings, The stuff with the OC is both innocent and fairly short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-07 00:39:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11047680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: Shiro needs an afternoon off, so he spends a celebration having fun and flirting.  What was meant to be a single distraction snowballs and clarifies something Shiro didn't realize was confusing.





	Let the Choir Bells Sing

It wasn’t uncommon for the team to end up as part of a celebration.  Usually, the end of Galra occupation meant that the inhabitants wanted to flaunt their newfound freedom, and a party was the best way to do that.

What was uncommon was for Shiro to get so involved.

Shiro’s prefered spot at one of these celebrations was by Allura’s side, both bodyguard and head of Voltron.  He rarely forgot that these were about politics more than they were about letting loose, at least for Shiro personally.  And it wasn’t fair to have Allura do all of the work herself, anyway.  She had be trained in diplomacy, sure, but Shiro had learned from the Garrison’s top PR executives, so he knew a thing or two about looking and sounding professional and trustworthy.

But today, he’d bowed out of all that.  

Shiro had a mission.  And that mission was to distract himself by whatever means necessary.

Because at some point, Shiro had fallen for Ulaz.  And he needed to get it all out of his system before it backfired and ruined their already tentative friendship.

Which meant Shiro was going to do something he hadn’t done in quite a few years now.

He was going to flirt his heart out.

At first, Shiro was hesitant to put himself out there.  He’d gotten into a social rut where most of his day to day interaction was as a commanding officer or friend.  Mostly, he was professional, or if he was playful it was in a more restrained way, too aware that their perception of him was important to how they functioned as a team.

Except with Ulaz.

Bad thoughts.

Combined with his awareness of how  _ different _ he looked now, Shiro wasn’t really sure what to do with himself.  So he hovered on the edges of the party, casting glances back at Allura and Ulaz as he considered going back to his usual role.

Until one of the locals stepped up to him and offered him a drink.  “You look a little lost,” they said.  “Are you looking for someone?  I thought all of your companions were here.”

“They are,” Shiro replied, and he managed the easy smile he used to use at bars or parties, when he’d wanted to let loose.  “I was looking for someone to ask to dance.  Maybe someone found me?”  He tilted his head in question.

The alien paused, then the lights along their jaw and cheekbones lit up.  “Yes, absolutely.  You are lucky, in fact.  I am well known for my agility in a dance.”  They way they said it reminded Shiro of Lance more than anything, half-joking boasts and eager to please.  “I am Rylieum.”

“Shiro,” he replied, offering his hand.  Rylieum stared at it, then took it and led him to the floor.  “I appreciate it.  I’m a fast learner, I promise.”

“You need not be,” Rylieum replied, cheeks flashing again.  “I do not mind taking the time for you.  In fact, I would enjoy it.”

Shiro grinned back, and let himself be whirled into the crowd.

Between the drinking, the dancing, and the half-yelled conversation over the music and din of conversation, Shiro was feeling pretty good.  Rylieum had led Shiro around the floor, teaching him several steps, very few of which had anything to do with the music playing.  But it was fun, and involved a lot of pressing together and sharing space.  Rylieum seemed to have a much lower body temperature than Shiro did, and he was fascinated by the heat humans put off.

“May I?”  They asked, reaching up and hesitating just over Shiro’s cheek.  When Shiro nodded, they laid their palm and fingers flat.  “It feels so nice.  Does it get too warm?”

“Not really,” Shiro replied, only hesitating a moment before leaning into the touch.  He was rewarded when Rylieum’s eyes burned and his cheeks flashed orange.  “It’s a little chilly for us on your planet, but the armor regulates that.”

Rylieum shot him a sly look.  “And if your armor were to be taken off?”

“I suppose I’d need to be active,” Shiro replied immediately.  He let Rylieum lift and spin him, landing properly on the tips of his toes like he’d been shown.  Despite being several inches shorter than Shiro, Rylieum - and all of his species - had impressive strength.  “Or maybe if there were a lot of blankets, too.”

Laughing, Rylieum let his fingers brush along Shiro’s skin as they dropped their hand.  “I think we could find ways to keep you warm, then.”  He beamed up.  “You are fun.  I quite like you.”

“You’re fun, too.  Thank you for dancing with me.”  And Shiro found he meant it.  He’d forgotten these could be fun occasions, at least when it came to him.  Really, he needed to spend more time getting out and socializing, rather than mostly dealing with nobles and leaders.  Those were the best for forming alliances, but they were rarely indicative for the rest of the species, or good for Shiro’s blood pressure.

Rylieum nodded and pulled Shiro closer.  Then they looked over his shoulder, frowning.  “Have I upset your companion?”

Spinning them, Shiro looked the way Rylieum had.  Ulaz was watching them, tense and unhappy in his seat.  He didn’t seem to be paying any attention at all to Allura or the Assistant Minister, instead following Shiro and Rylieum’s movements.

Huh.  Okay.

“Ulaz is protective,” Shiro finally replied, shrugging it off.  “He has many reasons to want all of us in good health.”

Rylieum frowned and made a low, breathy noise that sounded deeply displeased.  “He is not watching the others so closely.”

“They’re not getting up to as much,” Shiro replied.  Hunk and Lance were surrounded by a small crowd of locals, who were absorbing Lance’s no doubt enthusiastic and edited account of a recent battle against the Galra.  From Hunk’s bit lip and occasional comments, he had probably given up correcting him by now.  Pidge had taken up residence by the food table, trying each dish one by one as if any of them could be poisoned (or taste disgusting).  Meanwhile, Keith had taken residence in one of the less crowded corners, and he watched Pidge carefully, probably taking note of her reaction to figure out what he’d want to eat.

Rylieum hummed.  “That is true,” he allowed.  “Besides, we are doing nothing wrong.  If he wishes to be upset, he may do that.  I will not be leaving unless you ask me to.”

Something about that made Shiro pause, because he had no idea why Ulaz would be upset at Shiro’s socialization and it sounded like Rylieum was implying something.  But instead he just let himself be warmed at his companion’s stubbornness to remain.  It was nice, to have someone want to just keep spending time with him and returning his easy flirting.

“I see no reason why I’d send you away,” Shiro replied.  Then he paused.  “But for me this is... not serious.  I hope it’s the same for you.”

Rylieum gazed up at him and smirked.  “It could be.  But this is enjoyable in itself.  I do not mind if it does not go further.”  They spun Shiro again.  “Let me show you another step.”

“Please.”

Shiro laughed as he was lifted and dipped, letting the world and his stresses fall away for just a little while as he had fun with a new friend.

But whenever he looked over, Ulaz was watching.

***

The next morning, Shiro wandered into the dining room, scrubbing over his eyes.  “Good morning, everyone.”

“Hey, there,” Hunk replied, filling up a mug with the hot, dark drink that was the closest thing they had to coffee.  “Hungover?”

Shiro eyed him as he took the cup.  “Mmm, not really.  I didn’t have a lot to drink.  Just a couple of glasses, and it wasn’t very strong stuff.”

Muttering darkly, Lance dropped his head onto it.  “Says you.”

That made Shiro frown and look down at him.  “Did you get drunk?”  He hadn’t been distracted enough to miss that, had he?

Hunk laughed and sat sipped as his own mug.  “No, he was just up half the night.  Apparently Lance lives in the fast lane.  No time for sleeping.”

“Don’t use what I said against me,” Lance returned, voice pitching up as he complained.  “It’s not allowed.”

Snickering at him, Hunk held up a hand.  “Very sorry.”

“You should be.”

Shiro shook his head but smiled.  “Well, at least you had fun.”

“So did you,” Hunk replied.  “Seems you made a friend.”

Snorting, Lance picked his head up enough to look at Shiro. “Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?”

“I did make a friend, yes.  And I don’t care what they call it these days, that’s not what happened.  Not that it would be either of your businesses.”

Hunk stuck out his bottom lip.  “You wouldn’t keep it from us, would you?”

“Not your business, like I said.”

“Oh, are we talking about Shiro’s friend from last night?”  Pidge stepped into the kitchen, yawning wide.  “No fair starting the interrogation without me.”

Oh, jeez.  “There will be no interrogations at the breakfast table,” Shiro told them.  “New rule.”

Lance sat up properly and narrowed his eyes.  “You can’t just make up rules to suit you when you don’t want to answer questions.”

“Watch me.”

“No way,” Pidge replied, sitting down next to him.  “Did you guys already ask about Ulaz?  ‘Cause that’s what I want to know.  I told you Shiro wasn’t going to sleep with any random aliens.”

Lance shook his head.  “Not yet.  And hey, you don’t know that. Maybe he wants to go the way of Captain Kirk.”

Taking a sip of his drink, Shiro frowned.  “You know, Kirk really wasn’t as bad as pop culture makes him out to be.  It was never random and he was always respectful.”  He paused.  “That being said, I do not want to go that way, thank you.  Now, what’s this about Ulaz?”

There was a beat where all three of them glanced at each other.  “Well, he was watching you pretty closely,” Hunk offered slowly, like he wasn’t sure what Shiro was going on about.  “Did you not see?”

“I did,” Shiro admitted.  “I don’t know why.  Rylieum was harmless.  He wasn’t going to attack me.”  Though, he hadn’t really done what Shiro wanted.  Even after an evening of flirting and dancing, Ulaz’ name still made his heartbeat pick up.  

Ah, well, it hadn’t been a waste, at least.  Even if Shiro was still hung up, he’d had a fun night.

There was another pause.  “I don’t think that’s what Ulaz was worried about,” Pidge told him, voice flat.  “Did you two have a fight or something?”

“No?”  Shiro’s shoulders drooped.  “Why, did he say something?  Our last conversation was nice, I thought.”

Lance tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully.  “That’s what you guys do in your room?  Talk?”

Frowning back, Shiro drew himself up.  “Yes.  But again, not your business.”

“Just asking.” Lance held his hands up placatingly.  “We weren’t sure, that’s all.”  He paused at the sound of footsteps and approaching conversation.  “Well, I guess we can all find out.”

True to Lance’s sharp hearing, Keith and Ulaz stepped into the kitchen, already deep in conversation.  From Keith’s just washed-look and the sword strapped to Ulaz’ back, they’d apparently spent the early morning hours practicing with Keith’s blade.

“Good morning,” Shiro greeted, raising his mug in a wave.

Keith nodded back.  “Hey, Shiro.”  He sat down on next to the drink pot and poured himself a mug, sighing happily.

There was no response from Ulaz.  Rather than taking his now-customary seat next to Shiro, he sat next to Lance on the other side of the table and stayed silent.

Huh.  Well then.  Maybe Ulaz really was upset.  Shiro didn’t know why.  He hadn’t done anything wrong.  He’d cleared the evening off with Allura, he hadn’t gotten up to anything impulsive, and had hadn’t had enough to drink that he’d be too drunk in an emergency.  So what was the issue?

“Training going well?” Shiro asked them, when the silence stretched out too long.

Keith nodded.  “I think so.  I’m getting more comfortable dual-wielding.  It’s up to Ulaz if I’m getting good with it.”

Brows up, Shiro turned to Ulaz, waiting for his input.

There was a long, drawn out silence before Ulaz finally spoke.  “His progress is satisfactory,” Ulaz replied, and then went quiet again, focusing on the wall behind Shiro.

Something was definitely wrong.

Keith looked confused now, but thankfully not hurt at the.curt response.  From what they’d said when they were walking in, Keith was doing well, and he seemed to know it.

“So,” Hunk finally said, drawing the word out.  For a moment, Shiro feared he was about to ask about last night, but he turned away from Ulaz.  “What’s the plan for this morning?”

“Concentration exercises,” Shiro replied.  “We could use a light morning after yesterday’s battle, I think.”

The conversation drifted into the specifics as Allura and Coran joined them, but Shiro was all too aware of the empty space next to him at the table and Ulaz’ continued, flat silence.

It hurt more than he would have thought.  And worse, it was blowing Shiro’s concentration.  More than once he had to ask someone to repeat themselves because Shiro was paying more attention to Ulaz’ stiff posture and unhappy quiet.

The next few hours were too busy, but Shiro resolved to track Ulaz down later.

***

Lunch passed, and Ulaz skipped it completely.  After, Shiro found himself drawn to Hunk and Pidge’s latest project, and he was distracted away from a few hours.  So by the time he managed to get time, it was nearly dinner.

“Ulaz,” Shiro called, jogging to catch up to him.  “Can we talk?”

Ulaz paused and looked down at Shiro like he was deeply considering saying no.  “I believe that would be wise,” he finally replied, crossing his arms.  “It is clear we are not on the same frequency.”

It took a moment to translate the meaning of the idiom, but then Shiro nodded.  “I think so.  Can we talk privately?”

Ulaz nodded, reluctant again, but he followed Shiro into his room without complaint.

There was a long beat of silence, then Shiro took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if I insulted you somehow,” Shiro replied.  “I hadn’t realized I’d done it, and if you tell me what I did, I promise I’ll do my best to avoid it in the future.”

Considering him, Ulaz sighed.  “I believe this may be a cultural difference,” he allowed.  “Are humans monogamous?”  

Shiro stared at him.  “Um.  Well, it depends on the human.  Some are, yes.  I’d say a majority.  Why?”  Something squirmed in his stomach, both hopeful and dreading.

“Perhaps I should be specific,” Ulaz murmured.  “Are  _ you  _ monogamous?  I thought you were, from our conversations previously.”

“Usually,” Shiro replied slowly, picking each word carefully.  “If my partner wasn’t, I would be up for discussing and trying to work with them, but that’s never been something I did before.  Unless it was a no strings attached relationship.”

Frowning, Ulaz tilted his head.  “What does that mean?  ‘No strings attached’.”

Shiro went red.  “It’s a... well, it’s a relationship where both parties agree to be friendly and to have sexual relations without obligation or romance.”

“That is not what we are,” Ulaz declared, nearly bristling.  Then he paused and seemed to take a mental step back.  “We don’t match that, I don’t believe.”

“No, not at all,” Shiro replied, sitting down hard on his bed.  “We’d have to be having sex for that.  Or- okay, here.  What do  _ you _ think we are?”

Ulaz’ shoulders slumped and his hands worked at his side.  “I thought we were- I believe I was mistaken.”

His tone was utterly different from what it had been all day.  Instead of dark anger there was defeat.

Shiro had never heard him sound like that, and it broke his heart that he was the cause.

Standing back up Shiro stepped closer to him and put his hand on Ulaz wrist.  He rubbed along a little jut of bone he’d found there while he and Ulaz had one of their longer conversations that always seemed to make him relax.

Now, Ulaz pulled his hand away.  “Like that!”  He said, voice dripping with frustration.  

“Like what?  I don’t know what I’m doing.  You just seemed to like it, like a hug.”  Shiro’s stomach sank as he looked at Ulaz’ deep frown and pointed back ears. 

He had the feeling he’d deeply screwed up, here.

“I...” Ulaz swallowed hard.  “I should have realized- I knew, intellectually, that your customs were different, but when you did the same gesture, I thought you knew the meaning.  It’s- It’s done between pairs.  Romantically.  It’s a gesture of long term commitment.  During all our late nights and conversations and the time we spent together, I thought...”

“You thought we were dating,” Shiro finished, barely more than a whisper.

Ulaz winced and ducked his head.  “Not quite.  It’s more accurate to say it shows the intent of a deeper union later.  Marriage.”

Ulaz hadn’t just thought they were together.  He’d thought they were  _ engaged. _

Oh boy.  Oooh boy.

Stumbling back, Shiro sat when he felt the bed against his knees.  He scrubbed over his face, then patted the bed next to him.  “Here, sit down.  Yeah, we need to talk.”

“I apologize,” Ulaz murmured.  “I had no business being so upset today.  I thought-”

Oh  _ no.  _ “You thought I was fooling around.”  At Ulaz’ pause, Shiro cracked a small, thin smile.  “Cheating.  Not being monogamous.”

“Yes.”  Ulaz sighed.  “It was unlike you.  I was hurt, and I thought I might have done something to upset you.  I should have known I was misunderstanding the situation.  But the move was so specific and meaningful I didn’t question your knowledge.”

Shiro stared at him. “You had every right to be upset.  I didn’t know I’d done that, and then- nothing happened with Rylieum.  I was just looking for a distraction that night.  Someone fun to dance and joke with.”

Expression dark, Ulaz grabbed two fistfuls of the covers.  “You were very close,” he told Shiro, tone dark.

It finally registered that Ulaz had been mad because he was  _ jealous. _

That was...

Holy crap.

“I should clarify more,” Shiro told him. “That I didn’t know that gesture, but if I had, I wouldn’t object to it.  I don’t, in fact.  At all.”  Realizing he wasn’t making any sense, Shiro winced.  “What I mean to say is I have romantic feelings for you.  I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, but I’d like to try again, this time with both of us aware.  Engaged is a little... much.  But I’d like to try dating, first.”

Ulaz froze, then perked, his eyes widening and ears popping up.  “Truly?”  When Shiro nodded, Ulaz took his hand and nuzzled it.  He’d done that before, usually in quiet moments when Shiro was touching Ulaz’ hair absentmindedly while they talked.  Now, Shiro suspected it was another gesture that had more meaning than he’d thought.

Well, time to introduce Ulaz to one of Shiro’s romantic gestures.

Leaning in, Shiro used the hand against Ulaz’ cheek to pull him in for a gentle, chaste kiss.  

“That is how you show affection?” Ulaz questioned, eyes wide.

Shiro smiled back.  “Yes.  Maybe we can trade gestures, so we’ll both know what they mean.”

Beaming back, Ulaz tried it again, bumping then lips like he was bunting Shiro with his face.  “Like that?”

“Let me show you again,” Shiro replied, laughing.  “As many times as you need.  Feel free to take your time learning.”

Eyes bright, Ulaz matched his movements.

Ulaz was a quick learner, but that was alright.

They had plenty of things to teach each other.


End file.
